We added a new member to the family over the Christmas holiday season. Deanna was married to Billy Faubus (I think that is how his last name is spelled - I guess that is something I should know) on December 22nd. We are happy to have him as part of the family! He did a great job getting through the craziness that is Christmas at our parents house. Our clan will grow again next year too with a new baby for Deanna and Billy and maybe one for us too (keep your fingers crossed and prayers going out).


The wedding was a lot of fun. The reception was held in Huxley at a local bar and grill. Many of us love to sing so karaoke was available at the reception. Ellie, Deanna's oldest, had her karaoke debut as she sang Jingle Bells. She was a crowd favorite. It was a great party and fun to see all the family for an extra celebration this year! Welcome Billy!

Now that the space underneath the tree is finally empty and the bundle of new toys and clothes are properly stored, I can take a moment to share our Christmas joy with you. We all had a spectacular Christmas this year! We had 5 occasions of present opening this year! There was a lot of traveling between MN and IA, but now we are done and very thankful to have had so much time with everyone! Everyone was very thoughtful and generous with their gift giving. We are very blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. Lilah, being 4 years old, really got into the whole Santa thing this year. She wrote several letters and even sat on Santa's lap to tell him what she wanted for herself and for Sydney, our dog. Santa brought her all the things she wanted and she was very pleased. However, she was puzzled that Santa was so good to her even though she had been naughty a few times. I tried to explain that Santa had forgiven her for her naughtiness because she had learned not to do those naughty things again. She seemed to understand that, but questioned if Santa had given gifts to a daycare boy who is particularly naughty each day. I'm sure she will ask him and his mother, and then I will have more explaining to do.